Basket



Dec.22, 1931. R. H. BRAINARD BASKET Filed Sept. 10, 1930 2 SheetS-Sheet l H. Bmimrd,

l @M4K/31mg,

18 al a2 Dec. 22, 1931, R. H1 BRAINARD BASKET Filed Sept. l0, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 422, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAYMOND AH. BRAINARD, OF STOCKTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR Oils" ONE-HALF T L'UGENE R. DECKER, OF BROCTON, NEW YORK BASKET \'jammed together laterally, in order to utilize the car space to best advantage. After reaching their destination but before delivery to purchasers it is sometimes necessary, due to Federal or State regulations, to open the baskets for inspection, and subsequently close i them for delivery.

The present invention contemplates a basket particularly adapted for such use, and brieiiy stated, comprises a main tubular body, which forms the sides of the basket, bottom and cover members, and means associated with the body and the bottom andecover members by which these parts may be releasably held together. The tubular body member is preferably of tapering formation so that a number of these parts may be telescoped for delivery to packmg houses, while the cover and .bottom members are iiat and may be y stacked in compact bundles for such delivery.

The releasable securing means are fixed to the tubularmembers at theL time the latter are constructed, and the parts are so designed for cooperation with the securing means that f after filling with fruit or vegetables,' they may he locked together to form ai closed con- 40 tainer ,by relative movement of the parts, lwithout the use of nailsl or other securing means or the deformation of any of the parts.l

The tubular memberl comprises. a plurality of staves or stakes held together by hoops secured to their ends, and the flat cover memi bers, coextensive with the hoops, directly abut the staves' and hoops in. assembled relationshlp so that when baskets' are -arranged in a freight car or other conveyancethe weight of superposed baskets will be transmitted from the top members, directly through the staves tothe bottom members, and thence to the subjacent top fiat member. Any stresses transmitted to baskets in one vertical stack from those in adjacent stacks, such as may `be set up due to the inertia of the loadedy fruit whenithe car starts or stops suddenly, will be absorbed by the hoops, whichare strengthened to resist such lateral forces, and which are the only parts of adjacent baskets which will contact.

The bottom members, being releasably securable to the body members, in the same manner as the top members, enable the packer to introduce `the produce from the bottom of the basket, while it is in inverted position and has the flat top cover attached, thus insuring that the top layer of fruit or vegetables, which is the first packed, will be uniform-and level with the basket top. This may be done without the likelihood of crushing the top layer of fruit, which is usually of the mostchoice fruit, as may easily occur in packing a basket of the type which opens only from the top.

The novel securing means requiring only relative movement of the parts for interlocking, enable the ready inspection of the fruit.

Without damaging either the basket or the contained produce and may be accomplished without the use of tools or fasteners. The even distribution of stresses and strains obtained by the utilization of the present in vention permit of th use of a cheapergrade Vof wood,`than is ordinarily used in baskets of this general type, and this together with the simplicity of design, which eliminates intricate wood working and ointing in the construction of the` baskets, materially lessens the cost of manufacture.

These and other objects Iand advantages will appear in the following description of a typical basket incorporating the principles of this invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the basket with top and bottom members secure in their assembled position.

Fig. 2 is' a vertical cross section taken through the center of the basket, the parts being in the relative positions shown in Fig. 1. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a preferred form of fastening or securing dcvice for releasably maintaining in closing positions the top and bottom cover members.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the basket inverted and packed, the protective liner and bottom being removed.

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary plan views showing cover members on the basket respectively in unlocked and vlocked positions.

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective View `of a modified form of securing device.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation View of a modified basket construction.

. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the basket or container includes a tapered tubular body portion 11, which comprises substantially straight staves or stakes 12 secured together at their upper ends by and held between concentric inner and outer hoops 13 and 14, respectively, and secured at their lower ends by similar but smaller hoops 15 and 16, the hoops being flush with the stave ends. Flat top and bottom members 17 and 18, respectively, 4coextensive with the hoops 14-and r16, are adapted to form the closure or cover members of the basket, being releasably secured to the body 11 by wire fastening hooks 20. The members 17 and 18 each`comprise upper and lower pairs of substantially semicircular strips 21 and 22, arranged at right angles, andthe strips of each pair are flattened at 23, opposite their diametral edges, and secured together in spaced relation, thus providing notches 24 spaced at 90 about the peripheries of the cover members. The completed covers, due to the angular dispo- .sition of the component layersof strips are of considerable strength, but being lammated, the covers have sufficient resilience so that when loaded, as by one filled basket being superposed on another, they will spring into abutting contact with, conforming to any irregularities in, the flush hoop-edges and stave ends. Obviously, thestrips may be arranged in other relationships to provide the .notches at other angles if it is desired to do so.

The hooks each comprise asingle length of Wire bent to generally U-shape, each of the legs of the Ubeing formed to vapproximately S-shape, providing a cover-receiving channel 25 and a hoop clamping end 26. The hooks or clips 20 are arranged about the upper and lower hoops, the ends 26 being passed through the stave members and clamped thereover at points spaced to correspond to the spacing of the notches 24 in the cover members, the clamping action consisting of bending the legs upwardly from the broken line to full line posit-ion shown in Fig. 3.

1n Fig. 7 is ldepicted amodified fastening clip 20 which comprises a flat strip of metal formed with a channel'portion 30 for engagement with a cover member, and a tongue 31 having apertures 32 for receiving nails or other fastening elements which secure the clip to the basket body 11. Itis to be understood that a type of clamp means similar to that illustrated at 26 in Fig. 3 may be substituted for the means 31, 32, if desired.

It is contemplated that the tubular bodies 11 be completely assembled with the clamps 20 or 20 at the factory or shop and transported to packing houses in telescoped bundles, the tapered formation of the bodles permitting of this. The cover members are also built up to the form shown in Fig. 4 and may be shipped in compact bundles to the packing station. When a basket is to be filled with produce, the top cover 17 is first secured to the body, this operation being accomplished by placing the cover with notches 24 in registry with the clips 20, as depicted in Fig. 5, and rotatin the cover relative to the body in either irection, as indicated by the arrows, to the position shown in Fig. 6, where the cover will engage in the channel 25, thereby locking the parts together. The basket is then inverted, as shown in Fig. 4 and a liner 35 of heavy paper is preferably placed therein, to prevent possible bruising of the produce during shipment, and the basket is packed in the usual manner. The first layer of fruit, since the basket is inverted, will be the top layer and this will be even, conforming to the flat surface of the cover, and will, when the basket is again opened, present a neat and pleasing appearance. ABetween layers of produce and over the last layer, other liners 35 are preferably placed, and the basket being filled, the bottom cover 18 is secured in place in the same manner as was the top 17. `It will be apparentthat while it is advantageous to pack the basket in inverted position, the operation may be reversed if desired, packing the basket from the top, after first securing in place the bottom 18. f

Figure 8 illustrates a modified basket construction in which certain of the staves 12 are extended above the upper hoops 13 and 14 so that the upper cover member 17 will bespaced slightly from the upper hoops. With this form of basket it is prefered that the fastening clips 20 be secured through the hoops and the upwardly extended staves. As in the construction first described strains will be transmitted directly from the top cover to the bottom cover through the staves contacting with the covers, which in this modification are the staves 12.

It willbe understood that the basket may be opened for inspection and again closed, With- 'out in any way destroying or mutilating any part of the basket or its contents and that the basket may be repeatedly used. When loaded in a freight car or truck, the baskets may be superposed one on another and others side by side, without danger of bruising the produce since vertical loads will be transmitted tion with the staves, are comparatively rigid,

and which are additionally reinforced by the cover members. There is littlelikelihood of Vthe staves themselves being subjected to lateral forces since the hoops 14, being of larger diameter, will be the only portions of adjacent baskets'to contact. the baskets for any reason, a very light nail may be driven through the cover members -into the hoops or staves, at one point as it, is

only necessary to prevent relative rotation of the covers and bodies, in order to prevent opening of the baskets.

It will further be understood that the specie article described may be modified in various details, and it is intended that the invention should be commensurate with the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an article of the class described, a flat substantially circular cover having notches about its circumference, a body comprising a plurality of ,staves secured together by inner and outer hoops, and clip members having portions extending through said staves and clamped about said hoops and portions for engaging said cover at the circumference thereof, said clip members being spaced relatively to said notches in said cover in such a manner that the cover may be rotated relatively to said body to bring said notches into alinement withl said clips, whereby the cover may be removed from the body.

2. In an article of .the class described, a

tubular body having inner and outer reinforcing hoops at both ends, Hat cover mem- -bers co'extensive with, and for closing the ends of said body, said covers having notches about the peripheries thereof, and clips for releasably retaining said covers for abutment with said tubular body and reinforcing hoops, said clips comprising portions adapted to overlie said cover members and portions passing through said body .portion and clamped ,about said reinforcing hoops, said covers having cut away portions whereby upon rotation of the covers said cut away portions may be alined with said clips and the cover may be removed. y

3.v In .an article of the class described, a body member having longitudinally dislposed stave means, a reinforcing hoop aboutV the open upper end of the body, a substantially fiat cover member, portions of stave spacing it from the reinforcing' hoop, and' means, secured to the extended portions of If it is desired to seal the stave means for securing the cover to the body.

4. -In a basket, a body member having subi stantially closed side walls and having a reinforcing hoop at the upper end of the side walls, portions of the side walls being exwhereby forces applied to the cover member may be distributed directly to the sidewalls through the extended portions thereof. l n

5. In a basket, a body member having vertically disposed stave means, a reinforcing hoop about the upper end of thebody,'a flat closure member for the upper end of the body, portions ofthe stave means at spaced intervals about the periphery of the body being extended above the reinforcing hoop into abutment with the closure, said extended portions spacing the closure from the reinforcing hoop and the space between the extended portions providing openings between the 4hoop and closure for viewing theupper contents of the basket, and means extending from the -extended portions for re leasably securing the closure member thereto.

6. In a basket, a body member having vertically disposed stave means, a reinforcing hoop about the upper end of the body, a closure for the upper end of the body, portions of the stave means at spaced intervals about the periphery of the body being extended above the reinforcing hoop into abutment with the closure, said extended portions spacing the closure from the reinforcing hoop and providing openings through the basket between the hoop and closure, and means secured to the body member for releasably securing the closure in abutment Vfrom each clip for securing it to one of said members, a flat substantially circular cover having notches about its periphery, said cover abutting the ends of said stave members, and said clips having portions engaging over said cover at the circumference thereof for retaining the cover in abutment with the ends of the stave members, said clips being spaced relatively to the notches in said cover in such manner that the cover may be rotated relatively to said body to bring said notches into alignment with the l clips, whereupon the cover may be removed from the body. L 8. In abask-et, a body member having vertically disposed staves secured together adr jacent their upper ends by a hoop member; a cover comprising a pair of spaced substantially fiat strips, having straight adjacent edges and having other edges circular, al second pair of fiat strips superposed upon said first mentioned strips and angularly related thereto, said second strips being similar to said first strips and angularly related thereto, the circular edges defining the substantially circular contour of the cover, andthe space between the strips defining notches about the periphery of the cover; theends of said staves abutting the under surface of the cover adjacent the periplery thereof, and clips secured to the body extending upwardly over the peripheral edges of the cover and thence inwardly.

over the upper surface of the cover adjacent the periphery thereof for retaining the cover in abutment with the stave ends; said clips being so related to the notches of the cover that upon'partial rotation of the cover they may be brought into registry with the notches for passing through the notches to effect removal of the cover.

RAYMOND H. BRAINARD. 

